Le Dimore - Ponte 7

Ponte 7 is unusual. It might be exactly what you are looking for. On the other hand, it might not. Let me explain. The description ‘Apart-Hotel’ is totally misleading. Ponte 7 is not an apartment. Apartments have basic cooking facilities -microwave, bowls and plates, washing up area etc. Ponte 7 has none of these. Ponte 7 also is not a hotel. Hotels have a reception desk, full time staff, various room options, a breakfast area/ dining room etc. Ponte 7 has none of these. So what exactly is Ponte 7? Well, it is a fabulous looking, ultra modern, spacious, spotlessly clean, upmarket bedroom suite with free minibar (2 cans of soft drinks and water only, I’m afraid), super king bed and sauna, super king shower & super king Jacuzzi in an usual location – it is on the 7th floor of a 15-floor mixed use commercial/residential block, overlooking Palermo roll-on roll-off ferry port. It is a fantastically noisy location with a busy dual carriageway below, but the sound insulation of the balcony door and windows was high spec and effective. Look at the photos in this light. So what of our two-night stay? Well, the first thing to note is that the location was hard to find on Google maps when you are looking for a hotel. When Maps said ‘you have arrived’ my partner went up some steps into the nearest office block and showed the concierge our required address. He spoke no English but looking at the address supplied by Booking.com clearly knew that, indeed, we were ‘here’! We did not attempt to use the sauna. Or the 2,500 litre capacity Jacuzzi, but they certainly looked impressive. A previous occupant estimated that given normal water pressure it would take 2 hours to fill the Jacuzzi. Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration. We did use the king size bed, which was perfect in every way. We also used the shower, which was not. It has no sides, just a front panel. Use of the hand-held shower inevitably leads to water all over the adjoining floor.

There are two service lifts (max 4 persons each) at Ponte 7, both with unusual corrugated aluminium lined cars. The door closures were a bit rattly, unusual too. In fact everything about Ponte 7 we found unusual. Except the most charming online hostess Federika who was always available on WhatsApp to answer our queries. So what’s the conclusion? Had Ponte 7 been a suite in a central Palermo hotel I’m guessing it would cost at least E500/night, so in one sense it is a bargain. And if you have read this far, I’m giving it four stars. It loses one star because the description ‘Apart-Hotel’ is just not quite right!

Location is brilliant , apartment is beautiful, Federica super helpful whenever needed. Very safe area, close to restaurants, bars, 15 mins from Mondello beach. The apartment is cleaned every day with toiletries and lovely soft towels.

We had a brilliant time at Le Dimore, but unfortunately, the Sauna and PlayStation were broken for the duration of our stay. Would have been nice if someone had told this on check in, rather than figuring it out ourselves.

Great place to stay in Palermo, even nicer than the photos. Very professional and kind hosts, would definitely recommend

The area around the accommodation can be very noisy but not an issue if not sensitive to sound

Room was nice

The location is horrible. Very dirty neighborhood, loud noises outside until late. Smelly outside as well. I wish I knew better and would not have booked. No parking eitherZ